Northwest Film Forum

Out of crisis comes radical experimentation.  Few cities have hit rock bottom as Bogotá, Colombia did in 1994, ravaged by the violence and corruption of the war on drugs. Bogotá Cambió tells the story of how “crazy, extraordinary politicians” Antanas Mockus and Enrique Peñalosa road waves of public discontent to transform the city, break the old political system, and upend approaches to public safety, transportation, and the use of public space.  Bogotá Cambió is also the story of the politician as performance artist and performance as public policy, of mimes, superheroes, and the marriage of extreme contempt with extreme submission. Director Andreas Møl Dalsgaard’s debut film, Afghan Muscles (2007) won Best Documentary at the AFI Film Festival. 

•  This event is part of our series Red Renewal: Seattle’s Socialist Spring > 

• After the screening, join us for a panel discussion about how the film's themes resonate with issues of public safety, transportation and community in Capitol Hill and Seattle.

ABOUT THE PANEL

Alyssa Penner is a member-at-large of the Capitol Hill Community Council, and promotes community-based alternatives to policing on Capitol Hill.  She helped organize the Community Council’s fall 2013 public safety forum attended by over 50 neighborhood residents. Originally from Wichita, Kansas she holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington, during which she conducted a cost-benefit analysis of Belltown's Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. Alyssa currently works as an Academic Counselor at the University of Washington.

Elizabeth Ambriz is currently completing her Master's in Public Health capstone project at Public Health – Seattle & King County with the Equity and Social Justice Initiative.  Before coming to Seattle, she worked as a Project Coordinator for the California Endowment's Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Initiative in East Salinas. Through BHC, Elizabeth organized with youth to start Ciclovia Salinas. Modeled after the original Ciclovia in Bogota, youth leaders implemented the first program in October 2013, which closed a major street to cars and opened it to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other activities. Her interests include the connections between health, civic participation, youth empowerment, and the use of public space.

Alex Brennan (moderator) is the Senior Planner at Capitol Hill Housing, where he leads work on land use, transportation, and economic development.  Alex traveled to Bogota and Medellin, Colombia in 2012 to learn about innovative planning strategies being pioneered there and bring lessons back to Capitol Hill.  He received his Masters in City Planning from the University of California Berkeley and was born and raised in Seattle.